Insituform Technologies®, Inc. brings clean water to the Dominican Republic

Chesterfield, Mo. -- Insituform Technologies®, Inc. is doing its
part to bring accessible and affordable filtration systems to the village
of Bayacanes and surrounding poverty-stricken communities in the Dominican
Republic.
In an effort to provide clean water for the world, Insituform® is donating
$50,000 to the Agua Pure project in the Dominican Republic. According to a
recent study from the UN, 1.1 billion people across the globe lack access
to improved water sources. The same report also says that over a fifth of
the Dominican Republic’s population lacks access to basic sanitation.
Agua Pure is being implemented by Jesus For All Nations, a missionary group
working to distribute water filtration technology to residents of the
Bayacanes area of the Dominican Republic.
The new filtration method, developed by Potters for Peace and ceramics
researcher Dr. Manuel Hernandez, uses kiln-fired clay pots to transform
contaminated and turbid liquid into safe, drinkable water.
The pots are made using a mixture of sawdust and clay. During the firing
process, the sawdust burns away, leaving the pots porous and suitable for
filtration. Field tests have shown that the ceramic pots developed by Dr.
Hernandez remove 99.88% per cent of bacteria and microbes from drinking
water including coli form bacteria and E. coli.
Volunteers for Agua Pure have built two firing facilities where the pots
can be produced. The firing facilities employ local residents to implement
and distribute the water purification systems.
The $50,000 donation from Insituform will subsidize the cost of pots
produced at the facilities and fund the purchase of educational materials,
payment of local residents working at the firing facility, ongoing water
testing for one year, and transportation of the filtration materials.